The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling application level of access of a subscriber to a network.
Access to a home network through a visited network has been limited to a single level of access. As a result, subscriber equipment has not been portable across multiple visited networks which are connected to a home network in view of their functionality being limited to a single application level of access. In essence, each visited network through which a subscriber obtains access to a home network is limited to a single subscriber profile and does not provide for multiple subscriber profiles to facilitate different types of connectivity of a subscriber through a visited network to a home network.
The present invention is a system and method of controlling application level of access of a subscriber to any network. During application level registration, an application level message is sent from subscriber equipment connected to a visited network which is one of a plurality of networks connected to the home network. The application level message includes a subscriber identity and an application level of access to any network which may be the home network, any one of the plurality of networks or another network to which the subscriber may be connected. The application level of access may be in the form of an access mode ID comprised of a plurality of bits which uniquely identify one of a plurality of choices of application level of access which are available to any network to which the subscriber may connect subscriber equipment.
The networks connected to the home network in accordance with the invention are diverse in nature and without limitation may be a public cellular visited network such as a general packet radio system (GPRS), a wireline internet service provider (ISP), or a wireless local area network (LAN) such as, but without limitation, a local area network within a corporation. Regardless of the type of visited network, the application level registration message is sent from an entity in the visited network to an address of an entity in the home network which address is obtained from another network entity in the visited network. The entity in the home network receiving the application level registration message uses the received identification of the subscriber and the application level of access to fetch from a storage in the home network a subscriber profile which is to be used to provide connectivity to the user equipment in the visited network and any network in accordance with the specified application level of access in the application level registration message. The identification of the application level of access contained in the application level of registration message is a pointer to the subscriber profile specifying the application level of access and, upon fetching from the storage, is caused to be stored in a network entity either in the home network or in the visited network. The accessed subscriber profile is stored in the home network and accessed through a proxy entity in the visited network or is transmitted from the home network to the entity in the visited network from which the application level registration message was transmitted. Such entity is without limitation, a proxy server, gateway or serving call state control function (s-CSCF). The entity storing the subscriber profile in either the home network or the visited network functions to control the communications in accordance with well-known procedures for the subscriber user equipment in the visited network and the home network. If the visited network is a public cellular visited network, the entity receiving the subscriber profile for storage therein may be a s-CSCF; and if the visited network is a wireline ISP or a wireless LAN, the entity in the visited network receiving the subscriber profile may be a proxy server utilizing the session initiation protocol (SIP) or a gatekeeper in accordance with the H.323 specification. The entity in the visited network resolves the address in the home network to which the application level registration message is addressed may be a domain name server (DNS).
The application levels of access may be used to provide diverse types of connectivity. For example, the diverse types of connectivity may provide a different degree of bandwidth in communications for each different access, a different degree of secured communications for each different access, or different supported supplemental services for each different access which supplemental services may be diverse in nature, such as diverse telephony services without limitation thereof.
A method of controlling an application level of access of a subscriber to a network in accordance with the invention includes sending an identification of the subscriber and an application level of access to be provided to the subscriber from the visited network of a plurality of networks connected to the home network to the home network; in response to the identification of the subscriber and the application level of access by the home network, storing a subscriber profile of an authorized application level of access to be provided to the subscriber; and controlling access of the subscriber to any network dependent upon a comparison of an application level of service to be provided to the subscriber and the stored subscriber profile. The storing of the subscriber profile may be in the home network or may be in the visited network. Each application level of access may provide a different degree bandwidth in communications for each different access; a different degree of security in communications for each different access; or a different supported supplementary services for each different access. The home network may be an internet protocol network and the visited network may be a wireless public cellular bearer network. The public cellular bearer network may be a general packet radio system network. The home network may be an internet protocol network and the visited network may be an internet service provider. The home network may be an internet protocol network and the visited network may be a wireless local area network. The authorized application level of access may be chosen from a plurality of authorized application levels of access which may be granted to the subscriber between the plurality of connected networks and the home network. An application level registration message containing the identification of the subscriber and the application level of access may be generated in response to a request from subscriber equipment to a visited network entity; in response to an entity in the visited network receiving the request, an address of an entity in the home network may be obtained from a routing analysis in the visited network; and the application level registration message may be transmitted to the address in the home network. An entity of the home network may obtain the subscriber profile in response to receipt of the application level registration message.
A system in accordance with the invention includes a home network which stores a plurality of subscriber profiles each defining an application level of access to be provided to a subscriber to a network; a plurality of networks connected to the home network; subscriber equipment connected to a visited network of the plurality of networks through which the subscriber obtains an application level of access to any network; and wherein in response to connection of the subscriber equipment to the visited network, an identification of the subscriber and an application level of access to be provided to the subscriber is sent to the home network, and a subscriber profile of an authorized level of access to be provided to the subscriber is stored in one of the networks and access of the subscriber to any network is controlled by one of the networks storing the subscriber network dependent upon a comparison of the application level of service to be provided to the subscriber and the stored subscriber profile. A network entity within the home network or within the visited network may store the subscriber profile.